Clothesline and support therefor



July 31, 1951 B. H. sPERBER CLOTHESLINE AND SUPPORT THEREFOR Filed No'v.28, 1947 UNITED STATES @TF1-cfs 2.562,47s l `cLo'rHEsLlNls AND sUm'zonT:finiranno-R Benjamin H. 'SperbeniBrooklyn, N. ApplicationrNovember 2s,1947, serial No.' 788,512

This invention relates to improvements in clothesline holders Yincludingan Vimproved clothesline pulley and attachment'therefor.

The principal object of vthis invention is ,the provision of aclothesline holder which supports the clothesline in positiontransversely ofthe window frame through which clothes are hung, therebyenabling the housewife to hang clothes on the clothesline withoutbending out of the window. Itis well'known that 'it is quite dangerousto'hang clothes on conventional clotheslines through upper storywindows. Conventional -clotheslines extend ,perpendicularly .of thewindow frame, and it is necessary l for the'housewife hanging clothes onsuch conventional clotheslines to leanout ofthe window vto a dangerousextent. Eiorts have'been made to rig up a clothesline system -whichwould make the clothesline -more vaccessible tov thejperson hangingclothes thereon through a window. It is clear,

however, that the means which have heretofore beendevised "to effectthis result have been iinadequate Sfor -the purpose intended andcompletely unsatisfactory, else theyvwould long ago have replacedvconventional clothesline -systems and apparatus. Y

AIt is Aaccordingly the principal -object fof lthis invention 'ItoAprovide a .clothesline holder which would make -the clothesline V.more--accessible to a person hanging clothes thereon-from'inside the windowofahouse.

vAnother object of :this invention lis the provisionof a .new .andimprovedA arrangement vfor conventional 'clotheslines .whereby saidclotheslines may bebroughtinto a more accessible location with :respectto a person hanging clot-hes thereon through a window.

,Still another object of this jinvention isfthe provision of an improvedtypeof clotheslinepulley .which .is :adapted to rfunction ineconjunctionwith conventional clothesline pulleys without removing said conventionalpulleys Ifrom'their present locationand which in conjunction with saidpulleys rbrings the clothesline into a morefaccessible location from thepoint of View of afperson standing-on the inside Vofthe Window to vwhichsaid pulleysL are attached.

TvStill a ffurther `object Y of this invention is the provision -of animproved 'type -of clothesline pulley whichfmay be mounted onaVverticalaxis and Iwhich f is adapted to accommodateclothespins carried-by the clothesline mounted thereon.

A -still ifurther object =of 'this invention is the provision of yaclothesline pulley Aof `theecharacter last described which includes apick-up s claims. (c1. ,ern-119102) v 12 feature `enablin'g'it to.remain iin unbroken contactwith a saggingclothesline.

Preferred embodiments of .this invention .fare shown in the accompanying.drawing in which:

Fig. l is a side view of rone of said embodiments, partly in section, von the `line vI-I of Fig. 2

YFig. 2 is a top view thereof;

Fig. '3 is an enlarged top view ofthe improved' type ofpulleyihereinclaimed and of the .bracket which supportsit;

Fig. 4'is a side ,view ,ofsaid pulley and bracket;

' and .Figf is a cross s ecticnal'vew through a modi'- edform ofsuchpulley.

Referring know to Figs'. 1 and 2, it ywill be seen. that a conventionalclothesline pulley I 0 'is fat' tached'by vmeans ofabracket Il .to oneside I2 ofthe frame of 'a window I3. .A second convenl tional jpulleyLl5 is attached by Ameans of hook [6 vto a suitable support such as apole l1. -In

conventional clothesline systems the clothesline 20 extends aroundpulley I0 toand aroundpulley I5 and back again to V pulley l'0. Inconventional systems these pulleys are mounted on a pair o f hooks Ysuchas Vhooks 16 and they rotate on substantially parallel horizontal axes.In conventional -systems only tWo :such pulleys are used, and it will beclear'thatundernormal conditions unless-theclotheslinetwists or there isa strong wind, said pulleys fare in vsubstantial alignment with-eachother.'V l In the present system the two conventional" pulleys fill andI5 Varebrought into Aa different ref lationship with respect to eachother and'V although pulley l5 remains mounted on 'a ccn-V ventionalhook "H5, y-pulley -I should preferably be mounted on ra bracket suchas'bracket 'lzlvvhich supports the pulley -a predetermined distanceawayfrcm'the=window-frame- A third pulley, "to Ywit, pulley 25, thepulley herein'fclaimed. to Lbe new, 'is brought into the clotheslineLsystem heretofore discussed.V pulley-is mounted-on a-vertical axis, andit is supported 'by bracket26 which is aixed to the otherside`2'1-of-'the window frame. Immediately adjacent sai-dfpulley-2 5isanother pulley k28 which is of `conventional construction but Which,like pulley 25, is mounted on a-vertical axis. It, 1to0', is supportedbymeans 'of bracket 2 6.` 1 krlhe two pulleys 25 and 28 'last above'mentioned occupy a 4position relative to pulleys VIl 'l and |-5corresponding substantially to 'the yposition which the right angleoccupies Vwith respectj tothe other *two yangles of a right angletriangle.

3 It will be observed that the clothesline is made to extend around thetop of pulley I0, thence around pulley 28, thence around pulley I5,thence back to pulley 25, and around said pulley, and finally back tothe bottom of pulley I0. It will be observed from the foregoing that aportion of clothesline 20 marked 20a in the drawing runs parallel to thefront of the window frame I3. The full length of portion 20a istherefore accessible to a person standing at the inside of said windowand it is a relatively easy matter to hang clothes on said portion 20aof the clothesline 20. It is not necessary hanging clothes on thisportion of the clothesline to lean out of the window to reach it. It iseasily accessible to a person standing inside a window and merelyextending her hands outwardly through the window.

The clothes are hung on the lower portion of section 20a. This lowerportion may be seen in Fig. 4 as engaging clothesline pulley 25.

It will be seen in Fig. 2 that clothes hung` on section 20a of theclothesline must necessarily pass pulley before they can reach the mainportion of line 20 which extends between pulleys 25 and I5. Such beingthe case, it is necessary that provision be made in pulley 25 tc clearthe clothespins on said clothesline, as well as those portions of theclothes which are clamped between the clothespin and the clothesline.Such provision is made in pully 25, as will clearly be seen in Figs. 3and 4. It will be noted that .pulley 25 has a scalloped peripheral edgeand that the valleys in said edge extend substantially the full depth ofthe peripheral groove formed in said pulley in which the clotheslinerides. The ,dimensions of each valley are such that it is adapted toaccommodate a conventional clothespin 30, such as is depicted in Fig. 5,together with the clamped portion of the clothes which it supports. Theraised portions of said scalloped edge are rounded so that should anyclothespin be brought into engagement therewith, it would immediatelyslip into the adjacent valley.

It will be understood that when section 20a of the clothesline is loadedwith wet wash, that said section of the clothesline and moreparticularly its lower portion will sag between the two pulleys 25 andI0. It will also be understood that when that section of the clotheslinewhich extends between pulley 25 and pulley I5 is loaded with wash, thatsection, too, will sag. The problem of maintaining said clothesline,therefore, in uninterrupted engagement with pulley 25 is solved by theconstruction of the lower flange 3| of said pulley as shown in Fig. 4.It will .be noted that said lower flange 3| slopes downwardly and it istherefore adapted to scoop up the sagging clothesline from eitherdirection. The sloping liange 3l serves as a wedge which eases thesagging clothesline into the groove of the pulley.

Bracket 26 is of novel design and construction. It comprises avertically extending portion which is'aflixed by means of screws 36 tothe window frame 2l. It has a pair of horizontal protions 38 and 39,respectively, which are spaced from each other a predetermined distanceand which are aiixed at one end to said upright member 35 and at theiropposite end to a second uprig'ht member 40. The lower end of member 40is bent inwardly and in the direction of portion 35, said lower end ofportion 40 being disposed on a substantially horizontal plane parallelto the planes of portions 38 .and 33. The space between portions 38 and39 accommodates pulley 28 which is of conventional design. This pulleyrides on a pin which is vertically disposed and which extends throughslots 46 and 41 in portions 38 and 39. It is by virtue of these slotsthat pin 45 is adapted to move in either direction longitudinally ofmembers 38 and 39. Pin 45 is threaded at its upper end and a wing nut 50is used to lock said pin in place on portions 38 and 39 of the bracket.

It will be noted in Fig. 4 that portion 38 of the bracket has anupwardly extending pin 5I formed thereon, and the lower portion 39 ofthe bracket has a downwardly extending pin 52 formed thereon. Tensionsprings 53 engage at one end pins 5I and 52, and at their opposite endpin 45. These tension members tend to hold pulley 28 in tensionedresistance to the pull of the clothesline upon it.

The construction last-above described in connection with the mounting ofpulley 28 on bracket 26 is intended for adjustment purposes to adjustthe clothesline system as to the degree of tautness of the clotheslineon the pulleys and to compensate for a stretched condition of theclothesline. In other words, this is an adjusting mechanism by whichpulley 28 may be moved to tighten or loosen the clothesline on thepulleys.

Pulley 25 is mounted on a xed pin 55 which is supported by portions 39and 40 of the bracket 26. A sleeve spacer 56 prevents axial movement ofsaid pulley 25 on said pin 55, and it adequately spaces said pulley frompulley 28 so that the distance between the grooves on said pulleys 28and 25 corresponds to the diameter of the grooved portion of pulley I0.The upper and lower` sections of clothesline portion 20a will therebyremain parallel to each other under normal conditions, that is, in theabsence of a weight applied to the lower section of said clotheslineportion.

In Fig. 5 a modified version of the scalloped pulley shown in Figs. 3and 4 is shown. Here pulley 60 is a cast unit in which downwardly eX-tending flange or lip 6I corresponds to the downwardly extending ilange3i of pulley 25. In the case of pulley 60, however, groove 62 is ofsubstantially trough shape when viewed on the planeV shown in Fig. 5. Inother words, when said pulley lies on a horizontal plane, its peripheralline receiving groove defines a trough having a bottom Wall and two sidewalls curving upwardly therefrom. This construction is designed toanchor the clothesline in place on said pulley 60 once its downwardlysloping lips 6I wedge said clothesline upwardly into groove 62 formed insaid pulley. Once the clothesline is brought into engagement with saidtrough-like groove 62, there is very little likelihood that it willdisengage saidpulley when a heavy load on said line causes it to sag.

The foregoing describes preferred embodiments of this invention, and itwill be appreciated that these embodiments are intended to illustraterather than limit the scope and coverage of this invention.

I claim:

1. A clothesline and support therefor to be associated with a windowopening which comprises a pair of brackets disposed at about the samelevel on opposite sides of the window opening, a pulley with ahorizontal axis rotatably supported on one bracket and a pair of pulleyswith vertical axes rotatably mounted one above the other on the otherbracket, and a fourth pulley with a horizontal axis rotatably supportedat a point distant from the superposed pulleys, an endless clotheslineboth runs of which pass around the pulleys with horizontal axes, theupper run of the line passing around the upper of the pair of superposedpulleys, the lower run of the line passing around the lower of said pairof pulleys, the bracket supporting the pair of superposed pulleys havinga slot therein, the upper pulley of the pair having an axle pin ridingin said slot, means for tightening said pin in said slot, and a pair ofsprings on the bracket and connected to opposite ends of said pin toexert resilient pull on said pin and its pulley.

2. A clothesline and support therefor tolbe associated with a windowopening which comprises a pair of brackets disposed atabout the samelevel on opposite sides of the window opening, a pulley with ahorizontal axis rotatably supported on one bracket and a pair of pulleyswith vertical axes rotatably mounted one above the other on the otherbracket, and a fourth pulley with horizontal axis rotatably supported ata point distant from the superposed pulleys, an endless clothesline bothruns of which pass around the pulleys with horizontal axes, the upperrun of the line passing around the upper of the pair of superposedpulleys, the lowerrun of the line passing around the lower of said pairof pulleys, the lower pulley of said pair having flanges with scallopedperipheries to permit clothes pins on the line to pass around thepulley, said lower pulley spaced from the adjacent Window opening of thebuilding to permit clothes to be hung on the line passing across saidopening, means for adjusting the position on the bracket of the upperpulley of the pair of superposed pulleys and means for locking it in anyadjusted position.

3. A clothesline and support therefor to be associated with a windowopening which comprises a pair of brackets disposed at about the samelevel on opposite sides of the Window opening, a pulley with ahorizontal axis rotatably supported on one bracket and a pair of pulleyswith vertical axes rotatably mounted one above the other on the otherbracket, and a fourth pulley with a horizontal axis rotatably supportedat a point distant from the superposed pulleys, an

endless clothesline both runs of which passv around the pulleys withhorizontal axes, the upper run of the line passing around the upper ofthe pair of superposed pulleys, the lower run of the line passing aroundthe lower of said pair of pulleys, the lower pulley of said pair havingflanges with scalloped peripheries to permit clothes pins on the line topass around the pulley, said lower pulley being horizontally spacedfrorn the adjacent opening of the window frame to permit clothes to behung on the line passing across said opening, the bracket supporting thepair of superposed pulleys having a slot therein, the axle pin of theupper pulley of the pair riding in said slot, means for tightening saidpin in said slot, and a pair of springs on the bracket and connected toopposite ends of said pin' to exert resilient pull on said pin and itspulley.

BENJAMIN H. SPERBER,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 212,916 Fischer Mar. 4, 1879347,248 Miller` Aug. 10, 1886 387,225 Gindor Aug. 7, 1888 492,628 KinmanFeb. 28, 1893 1,262,123 `Sottile Apr. 9, 1918 1,500,549 Cudmore July 8,1924 1,522,470 Siebecker et al Jan. 6, 1925 1,963,000 Pfleider June 12,1934 2,181,878 Eckleberry Deo. 5, 1939 2,182,602 Veteran Dec. 5, 1939

